Interested in hearing from girl-serving programs about what they learned from participating in the Computer Science Outreach Program Evaluation Network (CS OPEN) led by Google and NGCP? Twelve computer science programs focused on serving girls engaged in in a year-long community of learning and left with both theoretical and practical skills. Join us for this informational webinar that will focus on exemplary practices in non-profit program surveying and evaluation.

Background on CS OPEN

At an event on July 9, 2015 co-hosted by the Center for Gender Equity in Science and Technology and the White House Council on Women and Girls, Google and the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) announced a partnership for building the evaluation capacity of girl-serving computer science programs. Committed to providing equitable access to computer science (CS) educational opportunities across the country, Google and NGCP launched the new CS Outreach Program Evaluation Network (CS OPEN), designed to improve opportunities and empower under-served girls through CS education. Google provided expertise to improve NGCP programs by offering professional development to promote evaluation of CS education initiatives within the NGCP network. This pilot offered opportunities for NGCP programs to learn about exemplary evaluation practices in studying CS education and provided an opportunity to apply for evaluation grants from Google. Funded evaluations impacted programs that reach over 1,000 girls. The goal of these evaluations was to produce knowledge that will improve individual programs and inform the field of CS education.

Catherine Law, Ph.D., Director of STEM Academy at OSU, has eight years of experience in university outreach at Oregon State University and Portland State University. She has a B. S. in Sociology from U.C.L.A., a teaching credential from Sacramento State’s Multicultural Education Program, and a Ph.D. in Public Administration and Policy from Portland State University. Cathy oversees the operation of STEM Academy at OSU, including creating and administrating summer camps, girls’ science and engineering clubs, and in-school outreach programs with a mission of inspiring young people to consider college in their future and the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields in particular. A significant focus at STEM Academy in to target underrepresented students to attend STEM Academy programs. Cathy has taught at every level from preschool through graduate school and has a strong background in and passion for working with underserved students. Cathy collaborates with university faculty, students, community members, schools, and private industry to better serve STEM Academy participants, as well as further research efforts in the STEM fields.

Yvonne De La Peña, Ph.D., graduated with a B.S. in Computer Sciences from the University of Texas at Austin. An internship, and eventually full time job at a startup prompted her to move to Silicon Valley, where she worked as a software engineer. Motivated by her own experience as a Latina in computing, Yvonne went on to obtain a Ph.D. in Education at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her doctoral dissertation, funded in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF), explored the characteristics of after-school programs in supporting the development of programming skills and computing concepts by young Latinas. Currently, Yvonne is the Director of Learning & Engagement at CodeNow, a non-profit that works with tech companies to implement programming workshops for underrepresented high school students. Since its inception in 2011, CodeNow has worked with over 1,800 students, 77% of those receive free or reduced lunch, 61% self-identify as African-American and/or Hispanic, and 47% are young women.